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April 2015 issue of Courageous Creativity, themed on 'Creative Silence'
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COURAGEOUS CREATIVITYCOURAGEOUS CREATIVITYAPRIL 2015APRIL 2015CREATIVE SILENCECREATIVE SILENCE
“SILENCE IS NOT AN ABSENCE OF SOUND BUT RATHER A SHIFTING OF ATTENTION TOWARD SOUNDS THAT SPEAK TO THE SOUL.”
“THE STARTING POINT FOR CREATIVITY IS SILENCE... THE CREATIVE SOIL OF SILENCE, WHERE CAN BE FOUND THE SEED-STATES OF ALL THINGS...”
“IN SILENCE THERE IS ELOQUENCE. STOP WEAVING AND SEE HOW THE PATTERN IMPROVES.”
“REAL ACTION IS IN THE SILENT MOMENTS.”
- Thomas Moore
- David Spangler
- Rumi
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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EDITOR’S NOTE Shahana Dattagupta 4 REFLECTIONSDancing with Silence Ruzbeh Bharucha 6 POETIC JUSTICEPulse of Advaita Sameer Pendse 10 FEATUREThank You for Being Here John Francis 12
YOUNG MIND, BIG PERSPECTIVETalking Silence Booker & Toby Jay 18
ARTIST IMPRESSIONSFace Opera Christine Sun Kim 22Silence as Loud as Love Leah Pearlman 26
CREATIVE ACTIONFinding Myself through Silence Amy Tanathorn 28 IN DIALOGUE WITH Akiane Kramarik 34
Credits and Acknowledgments 38
EDITOR’S NOTE Shahana Dattagupta 4 REFLECTIONSDancing with Silence Ruzbeh Bharucha 6 POETIC JUSTICEPulse of Advaita Sameer Pendse 10 FEATUREThank You for Being Here John Francis 12
YOUNG MIND, BIG PERSPECTIVETalking Silence Booker & Toby Jay 18
ARTIST IMPRESSIONSFace Opera Christine Sun Kim 22Silence as Loud as Love Leah Pearlman 26
CREATIVE ACTIONFinding Myself through Silence Amy Tanathorn 28 IN DIALOGUE WITH Akiane Kramarik 34
Credits and Acknowledgments 38
CONTENTS
“ULTIMATELY, GOLDEN SILENCE IS PRESENCE, OF CONSCIOUS WITNESS. IN PRESENCE, WORDS MAY BE SPOKEN, FORM MAY BE CREATED, AND STILL THERE IS SILENCE. AND WITHOUT PRES-ENCE, WHAT APPEARS TO BE SILENCE CAN BE DEAFENING.”
“ULTIMATELY, GOLDEN SILENCE IS PRESENCE, OF CONSCIOUS WITNESS. IN PRESENCE, WORDS MAY BE SPOKEN, FORM MAY BE CREATED, AND STILL THERE IS SILENCE. AND WITHOUT PRES-ENCE, WHAT APPEARS TO BE SILENCE CAN BE DEAFENING.”
EDITOR’S NOTESHAHANA DATTAGUPTAShirin Subhani and Shahana Dattagupta were inspired to become curators of stories of coura-geous creativity after experiencing firsthand, the transformative power of creative thinking and expression that involve emotional risk and personal vulnerability in a collective forum. More about Shirin and Shahana: www.flyingchickadee.com/about.html And connect with us on Facebook/flying chickadee.
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Dear Reader,
Four years after an awakening of soul in 2004 in which all had turned all topsy-turvy for me, came hurtling an urgent call for total silence. An apparent paradox for someone known for her personality of expression and effervescence. My soul soared, rejoiced and danced in 11 days of “golden silence” in Vipassana meditation – silence of mind, body and speech – as if I had finally arrived home.
It was easy to “just be” in this space. The question arose: Why must I do anything at all? Why must I move anything into form, into duality, when in those meditative moments the edges of my body quite literally dissolve into nothingness and I can experientially see that the form doesn’t even exist as separate from The One? Just as poet Sameer Pendse so eloquently expresses in The Pulse of Advaita?
Yet I was to discover through the repetitive practice of active stillness in Vipassana, that pure, golden expression and effervescence inevitably emanate from the fertile womb of silence, of nothingness. This golden silence, you see, is not the absence of sound. As internationally recognized prodigy and youngest binary genius Akiane Kramarik says in her interview with us, “Someone else’s silence might be someone else’s singing.” Ultimately, golden silence is Presence, of conscious witness. In Presence, words may be spoken, form may be created, and still there is silence. And without Presence, what appears to be silence can be deafening. These are insights loudly echoed in the reflections of mystic and storyteller Ruzbeh Bharucha in Dancing with Silence.
So, silence is the pure nothingness from which creation is born, and must be born, so that energy may move into form and out of form back into the silence. We see this in artist Christine Sun Kim’s evocative project Face Opera with prelin-gually deaf people and sign language – silence expresses spatially, as movement. It is from silence that all my “word-less words” emerge – creations of speech and writing and paintings and songs that appear to have form, but carry with them, the formless, soundless whispers of Oneness, of Unity, of Love. This is also the message in featured contribution Thank You For Being Here, by Dr. John Francis, environmental educator, TED speaker and founder of Planetwalk, who after 17 years of silence, offered this simple, profound realization: Environmental imbalance is an external manifestation of internal imbalance in human consciousness! This is his earth-changing gift to the planet, expressed uniformly through all his work. Perhaps not surprisingly, our young contributors Toby and Booker Jay at ages 13 and 10 respectively, offer the same message in Talking Silence: “Listen first, then do.” And artist Amy Tanathorn says in Finding Myself Through Silence, “I…offer my gifts to the world from a place of stillness and peace.”
Photographer Lavanya Reddy’s captures of pause in nature bring this stunning issue home. And life artist (and soul sister, I’m convinced) Leah Pearlman draws it best: “Where your silence and my silence meet, the sound is louder than Love.”
Shahana
EDITOR’S NOTE
“THIS STATE OF NOTHINGNESS IS A ZONE WHERE YOU ARE SO IM-MERSED IN THE DARNED MOMENT THAT AFTER A WHILE YOU BE-COME THE MOMENT AND WHEN YOU BECOME THE MOMENT YOU BE-GIN TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH YOUR HIGHER SELF OR YOUR GUIDES OR YOUR MASTERS, OR LIKE I SAID, PERHAPS BY A CALMER, COOLER SCHIZOPHRENIC YOU.
“THIS STATE OF NOTHINGNESS IS A ZONE WHERE YOU ARE SO IM-MERSED IN THE DARNED MOMENT THAT AFTER A WHILE YOU BE-COME THE MOMENT AND WHEN YOU BECOME THE MOMENT YOU BE-GIN TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH YOUR HIGHER SELF OR YOUR GUIDES OR YOUR MASTERS, OR LIKE I SAID, PERHAPS BY A CALMER, COOLER SCHIZOPHRENIC YOU.”
Ruzbeh is a story teller with fourteen books published. He is a documentary film maker and a journalist. More at: www.ruzbehbharucha.net
RUZBEH BHARUCHA
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DANCING WITH SILENCE
“THAT CONTROVERSIAL VOICE MADE IT VERY CLEAR TO ME THAT... BE-COMING A MEDIUM OR A CHANNEL OR AN INSTRUMENT [FOR]... THE OTH-ER DIMENSION, BEGINS, GROWS AND MATURES WITH... SILENCE. AND I WENT AHEAD AND SAID ‘YA RIGHT’ TO EITHER MY MASTER OR MY STATE OF SCHIZOPHRENIC JABBER WITHIN.”
DANCING WITH SILENCEThe first sound according to the sages was the sound of the word Aum. According to the Rishi Munis and the Mas-ters, Aum is the sigh of the cosmos; it is the sound of the Universe dancing by itself.
I believe that first came God or should I dare to say that God was, is and always will be present and, God is silent. And the word Aum or Ahun as pronounced by Zoroastrians, who belong to the first and the oldest religion known to mankind, is the first word. This word, which has originated from the womb of silence, is so powerful that just chant-ing it has taken scores of seekers to the beyond and back. Imagine if the sound of silence can be so powerful, what power must reside in silence and then when one goes even beyond silence to the very Source.
When I began to wander aimlessly in the world of the paranormal, I heard very clearly, a voice, which I would like to believe was the voice of my Master but you could just as well go about assuming it to be some schizophrenic blab-ber within me. That controversial voice made it very clear to me that the path of becoming a medium or a channel or an instrument who communicates with the other side, the other dimension, begins, grows and matures with the state of calm silence. And I went ahead and said ‘ya right’ to either my Master or my state of schizophrenic jabber within.
The first step was to be in the moment for forty days and nights. Which meant if I was eating, then I should do nothing but be in the moment of eating, and let me tell you, the food began to taste more unpalatable as my cook was first a plumber in the hinter lands of India and had come to settle all sorts of karmic baggage with me. If I was watching a movie, watch the blasted movie. If I was bathing, be in the process of cleaning my battered body. Wheth-er in a state of smoking, drinking, working, praying, smoking up, whatever, I had to be in the moment.
And what does all this absolute nonsense achieve? In reality, it achieves Nothing.
It is to be in this state of Nothingness that is the true state of being, my Master, Sai Baba of Shirdi often says during channeling and in my prayer. This state of nothingness is a zone where you are so immersed in the darned moment that after a while you become the moment and when you become the moment you begin to get acquainted with your higher self or your Guides or your Masters, or like I said, perhaps by a calmer, cooler schizophrenic you.
Slowly, the mind gets calmer. You are in control. You think only when you want to. It is like actually having to give your mind the permission to think. You are in control. The horses called emotions and thoughts are under your reign now. You know where to lead them. You eventually come to a point where you give yourself permission to be in the moment of sorrow or stress or anger. You take time out and tell yourself: Ok, I give you half an hour for all your moping and groaning, and after that, get on with life.
And you observe that after that given time, you exhale and get back to giving yourself to the moment. And in that moment, you find calm silence.
When I talk about silence, I talk about a state of calm stillness within. A state of positive acceptance. A peaceful consciousness. Immersing yourself in the moment where after a while you become the moment. And all this may sound spiritual mumbo jumbo, but you my demented friend, need to give being in the moment a try, and you will begin to get my nonsensical drift. Silence is not golden. Silence is more precious than all the trinkets put to-gether and in the calm stillness, centeredness, or state of silence you will find yourself, your true being, your real priorities and maybe even a whiff of the other side.
I am not talking about the state of void or emptiness or aloofness or forced detachment that is a shield from getting hurt, or the only weapon to fight back whoever is trying to skin you metaphorically or indulged due to not
“I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT... ALOOFNESS OR FORCED DETACHMENT THAT IS A SHIELD FROM GETTING HURT, OR THE ONLY WEAPON TO FIGHT BACK... THIS ZONE IN REALITY IS... OF CACOPHONY AND NOISE SO LOUD IT LEADS TO PHYSICAL ILLNESS, EMOTIONAL BIT-TERNESS, MENTAL DEPRESSION AND SPIRITUAL BANKRUPTCY.”
RUZBEH BHARUCHA
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bicycle knows that this ain’t silence. This is a state of suppressed rage or sadness, and this zone in reality is a state of cacophony and noise so loud it leads to physical illness, emotional bitterness, mental depression and spiritual bankruptcy.
True silence on the other hand, is a state of being cool on the highway of life. This silence means a state of not reacting to stimulus around you, and trust me we have ample opportunities to react but when you are in the state of calmness, or silence, or in the moment, your reaction time will start getting slower and then as though on a perpetual high, but a high of stillness, you will let your consciousness focus on things that matter.
Silence is so supreme that it is through silence that the word Aum or Ahun came forth and it is in silence where one experiences Oneness and connects to the Oneness Family. It is when you go beyond thought and emotion, do you come about in the dimension of silence, as both thought and emotion are noises, one of intent and the other of sentiment, and action is the culmination of sound of either intent or sentiment. That is why Prophet Zarathushtra based His philosophy on Good thoughts, Good words and Good deeds. So, first came silence. True silence brought forth noble thoughts. Noble thoughts gave words to the intent and thus came about good words and eventually good deeds.
If we want to achieve our own potential, we first need to befriend ourselves. The easiest and the surest way to do that, is to operate and live from a state of stillness and silence.
Be blessed.
“TRUE SILENCE ON THE OTHER HAND, IS A STATE OF BEING COOL ON THE HIGHWAY OF LIFE... SILENCE IS SO SUPREME THAT IT IS... WHERE ONE EXPERIENCES ONENESS AND CONNECTS TO THE ONENESS FAMILY.”
DANCING WITH SILENCE
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“I SILENCE THE MIND, A CONGENIAL STATE FOR TURIYA WHICH BEGINS TO PERMEATE WITH A REALIZATION – WE ARE ONE...”
“I SILENCE THE MIND, A CONGENIAL STATE FOR TURIYA WHICH BEGINS TO PERMEATE WITH A REALIZATION – WE ARE ONE...”
SAMEER PENDSESameer moved to New Jersey from Mumbai a couple of years ago, to further pursue his career as an AVP in risk and compliance for financial institutions in New York. He believes that progress in life should be measured in terms of personal evolution while maximizing the creative experience. He has been writing for 20 years and has a couple of unpublished fiction books as well as an unpublished book of poetry.
PULSE OF ADVAITA
I woke up in the morning with the touch of Adinath hanging aroundIt promised to be a beautiful dayAll the drudgery and dreariness, all the angst and fostering bitterness is washed awayAnd everything seems bright and luminous for a change
I head into office and occupy my chair; in familiar confines the internal noise subsidesWith every breath, I visualize a saffron Om flowing in and outAnd then it happens - The source of all things highBroadcasts the all absorbing milky white lightSweeping through all corners of creationInviting souls to rise upwards in ascension in heartfelt chants of love;The bliss of one and the bliss of the allMerge into one as the sounds of Advaita pulsate loud and clear
But the immersion ends abruptly as a lurking image emerges from a corner of the mindIf this be for the chosen, what torturous fate awaits the downtrodden?The sea of Advaita is silent, it proffers no answerThe ocean of bliss fades at this visionThe ultimate question is unanswered:The futility of human endeavourAnd the eventual destruction of man’s greatest worksWhy this dualism do we have to suffer?
We head out into cold winters night and settle by the fireplace to resonate with each otherWe are a mixed group - The words are different and the accents changeBut the divine soul is at play, and the underlying is the sameI silence the mind, a congenial state for Turiya which begins to permeate with a realization - We are oneAnd as we depart after consuming our intoxicating winesThe divine soul brings us together and reminds us that there is no distinction Though we think we are our individual selves
The day ends, I am back in the same bed from where I started the daily revolutionI visualize the saffron Om on my breath and reflect upon the shadow cast on the wall We strive forth unto the light and all is forgottenThe intoxication of Turiya is all that mattersAnd the pulse of Advaita has all the answers though we don’t know why just yet.
PULSE OF ADVAITA
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John is an environmental educator and former United Nations Environment Program goodwill ambassador to the world’s grassroots communities. Following a 1971 oil spill in San Francisco Bay, he stopped using motorized vehicles, and eventually, to learn to better listen he took a vow of silence lasting 17 years. He founded Planetwalk, received 3 degrees, including a PhD in Land Resources and Environmental Studies and an Honorary Doctorate in Community Service. He ended his silence on Earth Day 1990, telling the assembled crowd, “Environment is about how we treat each other.” His book, Planetwalker: 17-Years of Silence, 22-Years of Walking is published by the National Geographic Society. More at: www.planetwalk.org
DR. JOHN FRANCISTHANK YOU FOR BEING HERE
“THE MESSAGE WAS SIMPLE: AFTER 17 YEARS OF WALKING SILENTLY ACROSS NORTH AMERICA AND STUDYING ENVIRON-MENT FORMALLY AND INFORMALLY WHAT I HAD LEARNED... WAS SIMPLY THAT WE ARE THE ENVIRONMENT, AND HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER WHEN WE MEET EACH OTHER HAS MORE TO DO WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS THAN WE REALIZE.”
“THE MESSAGE WAS SIMPLE: AFTER 17 YEARS OF WALKING SILENTLY ACROSS NORTH AMERICA AND STUDYING ENVIRON-MENT FORMALLY AND INFORMALLY WHAT I HAD LEARNED... WAS SIMPLY THAT WE ARE THE ENVIRONMENT, AND HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER WHEN WE MEET EACH OTHER HAS MORE TO DO WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS THAN WE REALIZE.”
Keeping silent was a vow I made one year at a time. I was never sure what the criteria for speaking again should be, or if I would ever speak again. When the time came, if the time came, I would know. So each birthday, I asked myself, “John, are you going to keep this up? Are you going to keep miming and acting out, walking and not talk-ing?”
In the early years, when my silence was new, I seemed to have a palpable need to revisit my decision. It was virgin territory, this silent landscape, a narrow path through a ragged bramble. It twisted and turned uneasily, up, down, and around surprise and loneliness. I ached with old muscles unused and the growth of new ones. Words piled onto me.
The later years had become more comforting, the silence more familiar, with watercolor views to everywhere. Meaning became rooted in action and lives, movement, the passing of clouds, the clarity of eyes.
Revisiting the vow was the way I kept my decision alive and fresh. It kept the silence an act of choice. It was not like jumping off a tree-swing rope over Stony Creek, something I had done as a child. You knew that once you left that little bare patch of earth high up on the bank, there was no getting back without getting wet or dropping, broken-legged, on the rocky shore. If everything worked right, you just got wet.
Choosing silence seemed like one long, never-ending moment until you looked down from the swing and saw the water. On my 44th birthday, after 17 years of maintaining a vow of silence, I looked down, felt the high arc of invisible rope stretched across time and space, and gave up my last fear because I had a message.
So, on the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, in Washington, D.C., at a hotel across from the Soviet Embassy, I decided to speak to family and friends who had gathered to hear me say my first words. My stomach pushed up inside. After so many years, what would become of me? Would I vanish? Would the internal chatter, the lies, those things that drove me crazy, return?
“ON MY 44TH BIRTHDAY, AFTER 17 YEARS OF MAINTAINING A VOW OF SILENCE, I LOOKED DOWN, FELT THE HIGH ARC OF INVISIBLE ROPE STRETCHED ACROSS TIME AND SPACE, AND GAVE UP MY LAST FEAR BECAUSE I HAD A MESSAGE.”
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE
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JOHN FRANCIS
I was again venturing into the unknown.
The thin steel strings from my old S.S. Stewart banjo were exploding metallic rain at my fingers’ touch. I played a tune of a thousand miles and children’s smiles, seven years across America, roadside concerts, and old-time festivals. The comfort of habit and the discomfort of change were beginning anew. At the same time, I felt the excitement of a new adventure and journey.
Just one more tune before I spoke: “Life’s Celebration,” music coming from the road, from the wilderness of silence.
When that music stopped, I stretched my heart and leaped from that quiet place inside. Far out over Stoney Creek I soared … and let go.
“Thank you for being here.”
The words were almost inaudible, the voice unrecognizable.
I turned to see where the words had come from. There was no one standing behind me. I had spoken them. I waited for the lightning to strike, but it did not. I felt the correctness with every inch of my body. No sooner had the first words escaped than I found myself still in silence, the place and the experience of silence still with me.
From the small gathering a gasp arose; then, “Praise the Lord!” The shout went up anonymously. Aunts and cousins murmured to each other around their tables.
I spoke slowly and softly, each word presenting itself to me for brief inspection. I took the words into my being and willed them from the silence into the existence of sound.
“I TURNED TO SEE WHERE THE WORDS HAD COME FROM...I HAD SPOKEN THEM. I WAITED FOR THE LIGHTNING TO STRIKE...NO SOONER HAD THE FIRST WORDS ESCAPED THAN I FOUND MYSELF STILL IN SILENCE...”
“I have chosen Earth Day to begin speaking,” I continued, “so that I will remember that now I will be speaking for the environment.”
The silence and language felt as if they belonged together, as if they were part of a whole. Creation took place at their intersection, giving us perhaps our closest vision of truth. Believing in that truth, I proposed to the people be-fore me that speech that is not connected to silence is without creative meaning; it may fill the niche of a social process, such as in the case of formal speech or political rhetoric, but it is devoid of inherent meaning. After the words of the last sentence had come from me, I stopped speaking for a moment and waited.
Catching a glimpse of my mother’s watery diamond eyes, I smiled; I hesitated and started speaking again, this time about change and personal responsibility, then about language and myth and how I had come to be on this pilgrimage. I stopped again and looked inside, wide-eyed, at the storyteller.
There is something uncompromisingly honest in the experience of silence. It is from silence that all speech, and therefore all myth, begins. Speech is the myth of that which cannot be spoken. Without speech, there can be no theory; without theory, there can be no answers. When the world of myth and theory confused us, silence was always there, affording us the opportunity not merely to question our assumptions, but to discard them and begin again.
Now, after so many years, I discovered how difficult it was to speak. The words came slowly. I labored through the birth of each one until a full litter was born, and then I watched as they scampered off to live lives of their own. I stopped, thinking that reading might be easier.
People commonly believed that if I did not use my voice, I would lose it. Friends often paraphrased some well-known medical study, although the sources always seemed to elude them, or they thought they remembered
“THE SILENCE AND LANGUAGE FELT AS IF THEY BELONGED TOGETHER, AS IF THEY WERE PART OF A WHOLE. CREATION TOOK PLACE AT THEIR INTERSECTION... SPEECH THAT IS NOT CONNECTED TO SILENCE IS WITHOUT CREATIVE MEANING.”
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE
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seeing someone interviewed on one talk show or another. Many people believed that if I stayed silent long enough I would never be able to speak again, or I would go mad. Others told me that not speaking was ineffec-tive or just plain selfish.
I reached for my master’s thesis on the floor beneath my chair and opened it to the introduction. “This quote of Lynton K. Caldwell, an environmentalist, puts into words why I am on this pilgrimage. It is a quote at the begin-ning of Living in the Environment by G. Tyler Miller, the first textbook on the environment that I have read.
“‘The environmental crisis’, “I began slowly, “‘is an outward manifestation of a crisis of mind and spirit.’”
I stopped and breathed deeply. I discovered that reading aloud was even more difficult. Sweat began to bead on my forehead. The thought of continuing settled within me, and I read on, consciously thinking about and forming each word that I saw on the page before me.
“There could be no greater misconception of its meaning than to believe it to be concerned only with endan-gered wildlife, human-made ugliness, and pollution. These are part of it, but more importantly, the crisis is concerned with the kind of creatures we are and what we must become if we are to survive.”
After a few seconds of silence, applause erupted. It was not a speech like Abraham Lincoln’s; I was reading the words of someone else, and I did not have to take a long train ride and wonder if my audience had gotten the message. The message was simple: We are the environment, and on this Earth Day I wanted to redefine what “environment” meant. After 17 years of walking silently across North America and studying environment for-mally and informally what I had learned, which I now wanted to share, was simply that we are the environment, and how we treat each other when we meet each other has more to do with our environmental crisis than we realize.
“PEOPLE... BELIEVED THAT IF I DID NOT USE MY VOICE, I WOULD LOSE IT... THAT IF I STAYED SILENT LONG ENOUGH I WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO SPEAK AGAIN, OR I WOULD GO MAD. OTHERS TOLD ME THAT NOT SPEAKING WAS INEFFECTIVE OR JUST PLAIN SELFISH.”
JOHN FRANCIS
I went around to each table and spoke to everyone individually and in small groups. I enjoyed the rediscovery of the spoken word. I took simple pleasure in saying hello.
My journey of silence had not come to an end. It would always be, and has always been, with me. I had learned a great deal, much of which cannot be learned through speech. My thought, my ideas, and my philosophies had grown from a silent world that could not be articulated in words.
The further I moved beyond this ragged edge of silence, the more I realized just how connected we all are – the trees, the sea, every ecology we could ever imagine, and most importantly we, all of us, are connected. It was the same stuff that Nitsa and her co-researchers had found, the same concept that all religions share as the very basis of their being.
When I started talking, my dad, sitting in the audience, let out a cryptic phrase: “That’s one,” he said, and he held up a finger to signify that, okay, I had started talking but now I needed to do “two” – to begin using motorized vehicles.
Perhaps. In the future.
Right now, I was thinking more about the message I needed to deliver. This was my new day. I walked out into it.
***This piece has been excerpted for Courageous Creativity, with author permission, from John Francis’s book “The Ragged Edge of Silence,” published by the National Geographic Society.
***Listen to John’s TED talk at: http://planetwalk.org/?page_id=21
“THE FURTHER I MOVED BEYOND THIS RAGGED EDGE OF SILENCE, THE MORE I REALIZED JUST HOW CONNECTED WE ALL ARE – THE TREES, THE SEA, EVERY ECOLOGY WE COULD EVER IMAGINE, AND MOST IM-PORTANTLY WE, ALL OF US, ARE CONNECTED.”
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE
BOOKER AND TOBY JAYBooker is 10 years old, and in the fifth grade in Seattle, Washington. Some of his favorite things are origami, animals, ultimate frisbee and drawing. He has a dog, five chickens, and a hedgehog and is a great pet care-taker, and little brother. Toby is an 8th grader at Jane Addams Middle School in Seattle. He’s a pretty quiet kid, except when he’s playing the tuba. Toby also enjoys Ultimate Frisbee, robotics, making ani-mated movies, playing video games, and baking cookies
TALKING SILENCE
“I CAN BE MORE FOCUSED IF I’M OBSERVING.”“I CAN BE MORE FOCUSED IF I’M OBSERVING.”
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BOOKER & TOBY JAY
Tiffany – When do you experience silence in your day, and on a scale of 1-10, how much do you enjoy the silence?
Booker – When doing origami, reading, sleeping, and drawing. Silent time = a 7.
Toby –During silent reading time. Also, when there is no one home. I like it because I don’t have to worry about things. Nobody is there asking me questions. Silent time = a 7 or 8.
Tiffany – What has it felt like to be a quiet kid...?
Booker – Sometimes it’s nice. But, sometimes, if I’m at church or school and I am not sure about the answer, I don’t raise my hand and answer. But, then if it’s right, I think, “Oh, I should have said it!”
Toby – At school, I try to contribute as much as possible in class just so I don’t get a bad grade. So, I do par-ticipate in class, but it feels weird. I’d rather not. Also, I think louder kids get more attention. I sorta wish I got more attention, and sorta not.
Tiffany – Tell me a little more about how you feel about silence:
Toby – When other people are frustrated, it frustrates me. Like it’s contagious. When I’m in a quiet place, I don’t really have to think. Like when I’m playing xBox (or just being quiet), I kind of forget everything I have to do later, like homework, and stuff I don’t like. When it’s quiet, it’s easier to relax. When it’s quiet, it’s easier to concentrate and focus.
Booker – When it’s quiet, I wonder where everyone is, and sometimes I worry. When there is a little bit of sound, I’m more comfortable because I know someone is around.
“WHEN OTHER PEOPLE ARE FRUSTRATED, IT FRUSTRATES ME. LIKE IT’S CONTAGIOUS. WHEN I’M IN A QUIET PLACE, I DON’T RE-ALLY HAVE TO THINK.”
TALKING SILENCE
Tiffany – How has silence proved to be a strength?
Booker – I can be more focused if I’m observing. It’s easier to do things (school work) if you are being quiet. If it’s loud, it’s hard to focus.
Toby – Silence and being quiet helps me to listen and learn things. I think I hear things others may not hear. Also, I work best and can focus best when there is silence, and no distractions.
Tiffany – When do you feel most creative?
Toby – When I’m feeling happier, I’m open to more ideas. I feel creative during math class. When I finish my homework (in math), I get to draw. I like to be creative when I’m alone. I like drawing, baking and animating when it’s quiet.
Booker – When I don’t have too much to do. When I’m not stressed, my brain is open.
Tiffany – Do you feel most creative when you work alone or with others?
Toby – Coming up with ideas is easiest in a group. But doing creative stuff (drawing or animating) is easier by myself.
Booker – For math or programming, I like to work in a group. I like to do origami by myself. Or with Toby. Tiffany – What does it feel like to do something from a place of silence and observation first?
“WHEN I’M FEELING HAPPIER, I’M OPEN TO MORE IDEAS. I FEEL CREATIVE DURING MATH CLASS... I LIKE TO BE CREATIVE WHEN I’M ALONE. I LIKE DRAWING, BAKING AND ANIMATING WHEN IT’S QUIET.”
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BOOKER & TOBY JAY
Booker – In science, I listen first, then do it. That makes it easier, it feels better than rushing into it.
Toby – This lets me know more about something before I actually do it. I prefer not to jump into anything, but to observe first. Except when I’m playing Destiny (video game) - then I am more likely to jump in and take risks. I feel safe to just jump in without observing first when I’m playing a video game.
Usually I like to look at stuff and figure out a strategy first, observe what others are doing and build off of it.
Tiffany – Any other comments about Creativity and Silence?
Toby – When it’s quieter, I learn more because I can pay attention and hear more. When I’m doing creative things, it’s annoying when people ask questions. Playing Destiny (video game) can be creative because it re-quires strategy and finding solutions to a problem. Doodling is like drawing without thinking about it.
Tiffany – What do you want to be when you grow up?
Toby – Lego designer, video game creator, engineer, inventor, something music related.
**Tiffany , Talking Silence with Booker and Toby, is their mom. Thank You, Tiffany!
“IN SCIENCE, I LISTEN FIRST, THEN DO IT. THAT MAKES IT EASIER, IT FEELS BETTER THAN RUSHING INTO IT.”
Christine is an artist based in New York and Berlin. She uses the medium of sound through technology, performance, and drawing to investigate and rationalize her relationship with sound and spoken languages. More at: www.christinesunkim.com
Bio photo credit: Chris Ozer
FACE OPERACHRISTINE SUN KIM
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“FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF “FACE OPERA,” A GROUP OF PRELINGUALLY DEAF PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE ARTIST, TAKE TURNS IN ACTING AS A CHOIR “SINGER” OR CONDUCTOR THROUGH THE USE OF FACE MARKERS OR VISUAL NUANCES (EYEBROWS, MOUTH, CHEEKS, EYES) TO “SING” WITHOUT ACTUALLY USING THEIR HANDS.”
“FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF “FACE OPERA,” A GROUP OF PRELINGUALLY DEAF PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE ARTIST, TAKE TURNS IN ACTING AS A CHOIR “SINGER” OR CONDUCTOR THROUGH THE USE OF FACE MARKERS OR VISUAL NUANCES (EYEBROWS, MOUTH, CHEEKS, EYES) TO “SING” WITHOUT ACTUALLY USING THEIR HANDS.”
This is a commentary on how society places value on vocal and spoken languages, leaving little room for visual lan-guages. Performers took turns conducting and shared-conducting four separate scores on an iPad developed from the different parameters of the language.
Roughly 30-40% of American Sign Language is manual production, while the rest is expressed on the face and through body movement, a highly spatial aspect. For the performance of “Face Opera,” a group of prelingually deaf people, including the artist, take turns in acting as a choir “singer” or conductor through the use of face markers or visual nuances (eyebrows, mouth, cheeks, eyes) to “sing” without actually using their hands.
OPENING - ARM TOUCHACT I - OPEN EIGHTS: Dedicated to Thomas Benno MaderACT II - I WANT TO TRUST YOUACT III - GRASSACT IV - SIDELONG GLIMPSES AND GLANCESACT V - SOUPOONCLOSING - WATER RITUAL
“ROUGHLY 30-40% OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE IS MANUAL PRODUC-TION, WHILE THE REST IS EXPRESSED ON THE FACE AND THROUGH BODY MOVEMENT, A HIGHLY SPATIAL ASPECT.”
FACE OPERA
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CHRISTINE SUN KIM
FACE OPERA
Face Opera
Photos by Conrado Johns and Francisca Benitez. Watch a video of the above at http://www.christinesunkim.com/performance/face-opera-ii/Learn more about how Christine plays with sound in silence at: http://blog.ted.com/playing-with-sound-in-silence-fellows-friday-with-christine-sun-kim/
Most of the time, Leah is an explorer of consciousness and the human experience. Sometimes she’s a dancer; sometimes she’s a cat. Leah started drawing Dharma Comics in 2010 when she found that words weren’t enough, and has since discovered she’s something of an artist. A Colorado native, she now lives, loves and laughs in San Francisco. More: www.dharmacomics.com
LEAH PEARLMAN
image this page: Dharma Comics by Leah Pearl-26
SILENCE AS LOUD AS LOVE
Silence As Loud As Love
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FINDING MYSELF THROUGH SILENCEAmy is a San Francisco Bay Area artist who paints well-being and happiness. Using acrylic paints as her medium, she incorporates other materials from origami papers to tea bag papers into her art, creating unexpected textures and visuals. She intends to evoke calming, ground-ing energy, bringing more stillness and less stress into the world with her art. See her work at www.amytanathorn.com
AMY TANATHORN
“I SERVE IN THE HONOR OF SILENCE, AND OFFER MY GIFTS TO THE WORLD FROM A PLACE OF STILLNESS AND PEACE.”“I SERVE IN THE HONOR OF SILENCE, AND OFFER MY GIFTS TO THE WORLD FROM A PLACE OF STILLNESS AND PEACE.”
FINDING MYSELF THROUGH SILENCE
As I explore painting, I often think about the kind of impact I want my art to make. What is my mission? My mes-sage? Thinking deeply about these concepts, I also deeply delve into how I feel. Art is all about feelings, right? You know immediately if you like a painting or not, and sometimes you know the reason why, but many times you don’t. However the emotion is always distinctly there.
The feeling I want to evoke with my art is a feeling that I had as a little girl, when I’d lay on my stomach outside in the grass or in a garden and look at the tiny world up close. Moss became trees. Little insects and worms were giant. Individual grains of sand became jewels. I loved turning over rocks to see what lurked beneath. This tiny microcosm became everything right in front of me, and since I was usually in a quiet place, the peace and contentment I felt were profound.
And then, I grew up. I lost that little girl feeling, that easy-going and pleasant state of being. I became a deeply agitated, unhappy and lonely soul. Sometimes, I had such acute anxiety that I had to keep the radio on all night long so that I would not have to face my thoughts and actually get some sleep. You know what it’s like to have knots in your stomach and a tightness in your throat. Imagine what it is like to have that sensation in your body for a good portion of the day and night. I’d have crying jags, and my company was wearing thin on friends and family.
While I knew that running away from my problems was not the solution, I felt that removing myself from my en-vironment might help. So, I moved from California to Thailand to teach English. I thought that if I had to be alone and by myself, at the very least, I would have a purposeful life educating children.
Most of the misery left me, and I spent a great deal of time by myself in silence, taking fabulous trips around the country at every opportunity. Like the radio, the new sights and experiences in a foreign country were simply a distraction at first, but gradually, I truly started feeling better.
“FAST FORWARD A FEW YEARS, I’M MARRIED WITH A SON AND LIV-ING IN CALIFORNIA AGAIN. ANOTHER HUGE WAVE OF ANXIETY HIT. WHAT WILL I DO TO EARN A LIVING? WHAT STIRS MY SOUL? HOW CAN I SERVE MY HIGHEST PURPOSE?”
FINDING MYSELF THROUGH SILENCE
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AMY TANATHORN
Sometimes I’d go an entire weekend without having a conversation with anybody, and it actually felt fine. It was in Thailand that I reconnected with art, spending entire days walking through different galleries in Bangkok and soaking in the paintings and sculpture, both modern and antique, of the entire Southeast Asian region.
I got to teach art to the students at my school and found the work rewarding and fun. Slowly, slowly, the inner silence mended my heart and peace began to replace the stress.
Fast forward a few years, I’m married with a son and living in California again. Another huge wave of anxiety hit. What will I do to earn a living? What stirs my soul? How can I serve my highest purpose? What IS my purpose now that I have new roles as wife and mother and a different life in California? Teaching no longer seemed to be the right answer.
It was around this time that I began meditating on a regular basis and found teachers who spread the knowl-edge of spiritual insight. I’d been to a meditation retreat once, sponsored by my school in Bangkok, (how cool is that!) but I hadn’t been ready then. While I had enjoyed the experience, I had found that I could not sit still, my body ached and my monkey mind whirred like a blender with the lid off.
Now, taking the initiative myself and meditating out of my own volition, a daily sitting meditation practice soon became a part of my mornings. Famous western teachers such as Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie taught me how to be present and accept reality just as it is right now. And that it is just the way it is supposed to be. Dwelling in the past is as useless as worrying about the future, so create the future you want right now.
Sitting in silence and letting go directed me to follow my heart and be an artist. And once I made that choice, it felt as if a heavy burden was lifted from my shoulders.
“NOW, TAKING THE INITIATIVE MYSELF AND MEDITATING OUT OF MY OWN VOLITION, A DAILY SITTING MEDITATION PRACTICE SOON BECAME A PART OF MY MORNINGS. FAMOUS WESTERN TEACHERS SUCH AS ECKHART TOLLE AND BYRON KATIE TAUGHT ME HOW TO BE PRESENT AND ACCEPT REALITY JUST AS IT IS RIGHT NOW.”
A life without a directed purpose is like that monkey mind that flits from one idea to another. I quieted my mind and the answer came. With a unified mind, I started directing my energies at being an artist, cultivating a body of work, refining my skills and developing my own signature style.
My paintings became that microcosm from my girlhood days. Something to focus on, become still inside, and feel that sense of contentment and peace, which naturally leads to a sense of well-being. And, out of that, I found my mission: I create paintings for well-being.
My paintings are something to focus on, as you take a few deep breaths and become centered, more grounded. My artwork is your sanctuary.
Professionals in the healing arts from acupuncturists and day spa owners to chiropractors and therapists like the art on their walls to bring calming, tranquil energy into their space so that their clients/patients feel more at ease. If my paintings can bring some happiness to caregivers and to someone who practices self-care, then I have achieved my purpose as an artist and as a human being.
A friend of mine acquired a small painting earlier this month and the sheer joy on her face, bright eyes, huge smile and celebratory feeling we both had, made me feel like this is exactly why I paint.
I serve in the honor of silence, and offer my gifts to the world from a place of stillness and peace. May my work be lifted to its highest possibility for beings everywhere!
“MY PAINTINGS ARE SOMETHING TO FOCUS ON, AS YOU TAKE A FEW DEEP BREATHS AND BECOME CENTERED, MORE GROUNDED. MY ART-WORK IS YOUR SANCTUARY.”
FINDING MYSELF THROUGH SILENCE
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AMY TANATHORN
Being Lotus
Dew Like World Quiet Place
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Akiane is an internationally recognized prodigy, considered the youngest binary genius in both realism art and poetry. She is the bestselling author of two books: “Akiane: her life, her art, her poetry” and “Akiane: My Dream is Bigger than I”. Never exposed to spiritual matters, unexpect-edly, at the age of four, Akiane began sharing her detailed visions about God and events on earth. Soon after, she started describing them though art and poetry. Her original masterpieces selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars make her the most successful living visual art child prodigy of the world. More: www.akiane.com
IN DIALOGUE WITHAKIANE KRAMARIK
“TO ME, SILENCE DOESN’T MEAN COMPLETE SILENCE. SOMEONE ELSE’S SILENCE MIGHT BE SOMEONE ELSE’S SINGING.”“TO ME, SILENCE DOESN’T MEAN COMPLETE SILENCE. SOMEONE ELSE’S SILENCE MIGHT BE SOMEONE ELSE’S SINGING.”
Shirin – Hello Akiane, Thank You for being a part of this ‘Creative Silence’ issue of Courageous Creativity! Please tell us about the role that Silence/Stillness has played in your life.
Akiane – At a very young age, I discovered peace in nature. To me, silence doesn’t mean complete silence. Some-one else’s silence might be someone else’s singing. My brothers and I often spent many hours outdoors discovering new butterflies hovering over the flowers and birds building their nests in the willow trees. My mother and I would often rest in the fields and braid head wreaths from dandelion flowers. I believe that it was in those blissful moments that my craving for creativity began.
Shirin – Your inspirations/visions started coming to you when you were barely three years old and literally did not have much of a vocabulary to express yourself with. Can you share with us more about that time in your life when you first started painting to share your experiences?
Akiane – As a child, I was only fascinated with real things--imaginary things never interested me. I was very shy and rarely talked. I would spend my days absorbing the world around me especially studying and observing the facial gestures of people and feeling the textures of the trees, grass, and textiles.
Interestingly, at times I would see vivid impressions of different worlds and snapshots of people’s lives. Gradually, the interest of recording my visions and inspirations began. Through experimenting, I found out that art was the perfect medium for me to portray what I saw.
Shirin – I was reading about how initially when you first started having your spiritual experiences, you kept most of the details to yourself because you felt that it was not yet time for others to know. Tell us about this deep sense of intuition and faith in yourself.
Akiane – I was convinced at the time that if I shared my side of the story with anyone, it would not be understood or it would be interpreted differently. It was easier for me to draw out the images without using words and explanations, so not to filter my experiences.
AKIANE KRAMARIK
“INTERESTINGLY, AT TIMES I WOULD SEE VIVID IMPRESSIONS OF DIFFER-ENT WORLDS AND SNAPSHOTS OF PEOPLE’S LIVES. GRADUALLY, THE IN-TEREST OF RECORDING MY VISIONS AND INSPIRATIONS BEGAN.”
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Shirin – You were only eight when you were invited to the Oprah Winfrey show; how were you able to find the balance and discipline with staying focused on your work in the midst of being thrust into the international spot-light?
Akiane – The Oprah show was my first and biggest TV appearance, and I was still unaware of her massive influ-ence. I was drawn to her as a warm and understanding person who made me open up and share my story with the world.
Shirin – The subjects of your paintings reflect your awareness of reality, seen or unseen. Tell us more about your process and how you are able to portray the invisible with such emotion and realism.
Akiane – I believe that art is the gateway to people’s true emotion. It can surpass the seen to bridge into the unseen world.
Every painting has a different process, because the source of the inspiration is always different. There is no spe-cific step by step calculations for a painting. But if the image required a model, I would search for the distinctive features for the painting. If it is an unseen world, than I would try to tap into my memories or the universe library around me.
Shirin – I love this quote by you from your upcoming book, Eternity Is Not That Long - “I see ordinary life in an extraordinary world, and I see extraordinary life in an ordinary world. Everything is One. We are all connected. If we experienced the present through eternity and eternity through the present, we would know true Love.” Please share more about your thoughts on Oneness.
Akiane – We all grow like a garden. Some are small, some are tall, some have thorns, some are colorless, some have intense scent, some are detached from everyone else and some bloom only once in a lifetime. In the end, we all face the same sun and wait for the rain together...
IN DIALOGUE WITH...
“I BELIEVE THAT ART IS THE GATEWAY TO PEOPLE’S TRUE EMO-TION. IT CAN SURPASS THE SEEN TO BRIDGE INTO THE UNSEEN WORLD.”
Shirin – Any other thoughts on wordlessness or stillness that you’d like to leave us with.
Akiane – I believe if we utilize all our senses, we will all be able to step in the unseen, undiscovered and the mag-nificent world around us.
**Hear more from Akiane at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYDzUTZys8g
“I SEE ORDINARY LIFE IN AN EXTRAORDINARY WORLD, AND I SEE EX-TRAORDINARY LIFE IN AN ORDINARY WORLD. EVERYTHING IS ONE. WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. IF WE EXPERIENCED THE PRESENT THROUGH ETER-NITY AND ETERNITY THROUGH THE PRESENT, WE WOULD KNOW TRUE LOVE.”
AKIANE KRAMARIK
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PHOTOGRAPHYLAVANYA REDDYPhotography is a creative activity close to Lavanya’s heart. To be behind the camera gives her a high and the learning curve is something she greatly embraces. While it’s a long road ahead, Lavanya is very happy to be here!
Curators and Editors: Shirin Subhani and Shahana DattaguptaCuration Assistance: Dharini VasudevanStory guidance and copy editing: Shirin SubhaniConcept and layout: Shahana DattaguptaOriginal Photography (this issue): Lavanya Reddy Interview (this issue): Shirin Subhani
Flying Chickadee is deeply grateful for the courageously creative contributions from all the life artists from all over the world. (All rights for individual works belong to the respective individual artists, and can be reprinted with written permission and proper reference to this ‘zine.)
CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
